Virtual Iraq

I have great respect for those people who make the choice to dedicate their lives to the serving our country. it must take a lot of guts to decide to make that choice, especially at at age like this. i can't even pick a major, never mind find myself ready to sign up for the army. pretty much everyone knows of someone who is or was in the army, but it always seemed like something that "just was". it wasn't until last semester that it became real, how big of a decision it is, when someone my own age, was today sitting in my math class, but in a few short years would be off defending our country. i almost felt privileged to have been in a class with them.
one great factor that makes the idea of this choice so uneasy for me is the huge amount of uncertainty that comes along with it. the article, Virtual Iraq, by Sue Halpern, discusses PTSD, posttramatic stress disorder, a very unfortunate side effect of traumatic events, like war. having to deal with something like this anxiety could take over someone's life. it isn't fair. although there have been no real cures for these horrible flashbacks, new technological therapies have been proposed. simulation games are hoping to ease the stress of veterans who suffer from the disorder by allowing them to relive the trauma in a controlled setting. like Paul Rieckhoff said "we're a video game generation. it's what we grew up on. so maybe we'll respond to it".